You are here

News

Art in the cause of conservation

5 February, 2013 - 16:00 -- John Burton

Not so long ago Maureen Minchin lived in the Waveney Valley of Suffolk. I came to know her through a shared love of nature, and her highly original slipware is decorated with an abundance of wildlife. Maureen has recently donated to World Land Trust (WLT) a delightful lidded pot to sell in support of our work in Bolivia.

There are many collectors of her pottery, and Bonhams regularly sell her work at auction. Other galleries selling her work were all sold out when I recently checked the internet.

Maureen has also offered to create some original designs based on the wildlife of Bolivia. This should be truly spectacular, with birds like the Blue-throated Macaw, as well as Giant Ant-eaters and Maned Wolves.

WLT has been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm with which artists have greeted our gallery in Halesworth.

We don’t ask artists to donate works, we ask them to sell them on a normal gallery commission basis – we know that most artists struggle to make a living.

We also know that operating the gallery on a sound commercial basis is the only way it can be sustainable. However, it is always nice when an artist is able to donate works.

One of our Trustees is Bruce Pearson, Past President of the Society of Wildlife Artists, and he has donated a selection of the original artwork for Rare Mammals of the World, a book I wrote (with Vivien Burton) back in the 1980s.

These splendid plates are both scientifically accurate, in the great tradition of Gould, Wolf, Smit, Lear, Keulemans and Thorburn – to name but a few, and they are also decorative.

They can be seen on WLT’s website, but there are many more available – so call in or phone me to ask about them.

We also have many other prints and paintings always available. If you are travelling any distance, do phone and check first – the gallery is staffed by volunteers, and may be closed between exhibitions.